Greenfire Bio Announces the acquisition of an IND-stage SIK2 inhibitor, for Ovarian Cancer

by | Dec 15, 2020

Austin TX, December 16, 2020 — Greenfire Bio, LLC announced today that it has completed its first transaction, the acquisition of a first-in-class, orally bioavailable small molecule dual inhibitor of the Salt Inducible Kinases 2 and 3 (SIK2, SIK3) for ovarian cancer. Greenfire Bio, LLC has formed a subsidiary, Green3Bio Inc., to manage development of GRN-300, starting with a Phase 1 clinical trial of GRN-300 which is expected to begin before the end of the year at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The molecule had previously been developed though IND authorization by Arrien Pharmaceuticals of Salt Lake City, UT.

The acquisition of GRN-300 is the first transaction for Greenfire Bio and represents the type of assets the company will continue to seek out and accelerate. “GRN-300 is the perfect example of the type of assets we want to develop at Greenfire, unique therapeutics or devices in that critical transition of becoming a clinical stage product, that address serious unmet medical needs,” said Ajit Gill, CEO of Greenfire Bio. “Our mission to accelerate differentiated therapies could not have a better start that with this first-in-class clinical stage candidate for ovarian cancers.”

“We are excited to have found a partner for our SIK inhibitor candidate,” said Dr. Hariprasad Vankayalapati, Founder and CSO of Arrien Pharmaceuticals. “We had successfully taken this molecule from early discovery to IND approval stage and are eager to see how it performs in the clinic”.

About ovarian cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. In 2018, there were nearly 68,000 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in Europe and around 45,000 deaths. This year, an estimated 21,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 14,000 will die from the disease in the US alone. Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect in an early, more treatable stage; therefore, the high death rate is the result of the current lack of salvage treatment for the vast majority of women who experience a recurrence, resulting in a 5-year survival rate of less than 30%.

About GRN-300

GRN-300 is an orally bioavailable small molecule dual inhibitor of SIK2 and SIK3 kinases with a strong safety profile. The SIK2 kinase is overexpressed in 30% of ovarian cancer specimens suggesting a clinical mechanism of treating ovarian cancer by inhibiting SIK2 kinase activity. SIK2 and SIK3 are prevalent in several other tumor types, including Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), prostate, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), melanoma and AML cancers. Higher levels of expression of SIK2 have been shown to be significantly correlated with poor progression-free survival in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancers. GRN-300 demonstrated activity in ovarian mouse tumor models as a single agent for treatment of ovarian carcinoma and in combination with paclitaxel.

About Greenfire Bio

Greenfire Bio, LLC is a new life science company, led by a team of experienced biopharma executives, building a diversified product pipeline by developing early-stage assets through proof of concept. Greenfire typically licenses, acquires, partners, or invests in differentiated pre-clinical or early clinical stage medical products to bridge the translational medicine gap and accelerate development. A dedicated company is created for each new product acquired by Greenfire BIO. Green3Bio Inc. was created for the purpose of developing GRN-300 in ovarian and other cancers.

CONTACT: Ajit Gill, President and CEO, or Michael Weickert, COO, both of Greenfire Bio, at 408-218-9330; or 650-218-1840 respectively
Website: greenfirebio.com
Twitter: @greenfirebio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenfire-bio/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenfireBio

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